IN THE MIDWEST.

No-contest Plea In Death Of Infant

WAUSAU, WISCONSIN — A man accused of using a wrestling-style sleeper hold on his infant son pleaded no contest Wednesday to a charge of reckless homicide.

James W. Gomez, 25, entered the plea in the death of 4-month-old James C. Gomez. He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

The plea came as Gomez's second trial in the case was to begin.

Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Raymond Thums declared a mistrial in November after two days of testimony. Thums ruled that Gomez, of Rothschild, was unfit to defend himself.

Thums declared the mistrial after he and Gomez had argued in front of jurors.

Marathon County court records said Gomez allegedly used a "choker hold" on the baby to stop him from crying, resulting in a cutoff of blood to the brain. The infant died Feb. 7, 1999, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.

The mother told authorities that Gomez, her boyfriend, commonly used the wrestling hold on the baby to make him unconscious when he was crying, court records said.

Gomez said the boy died from sudden infant death syndrome or suffocation by a pillow. He said police and prosecutors were conspiring with his former girlfriend to convict him.